The day after his presentation to the Council of Ministers, the Minister of Public Accounts defended Thursday before senators the “extension” of 2.4 billion euros provided for in the amending budget to deal with inflation and balanced “adjustments”. on other expenses.
An envelope of 2.4 billion euros, which is added to the 20 billion released this summer for purchasing power, is dedicated in the draft second amending finance law to supporting the French in the face of inflation (energy check, fuel rebate , aid to universities, etc.).
Some additional 5 billion will be allocated to a number of end-of-management adjustments (2 billion to bail out France Competences, 450 million to help farmers, 1.1 billion for defense in the context of the war in Ukraine, etc.) but these overtures appropriations are compensated by cancellations of appropriations of an identical amount, specified Gabriel Attal before the Committee of finances of the Senate.
It is therefore a balanced budget text excluding exceptional expenditure linked to the energy crisis, he added, recalling that higher revenues than expected even made it possible to reduce the forecast deficit to 4.9% of GDP. against 5% previously.
After having already tightened the screws on the 2023-2027 budget programming bill by voting overnight on more ambitious public spending cuts than those of the government, several senators asked Mr. Attal about possible savings.
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The general rapporteur of the Finance Committee, Jean-Franois Husson (LR), notably protested against the bailout of France Competences (the regulator of work-study and vocational training) which he considers to be a bottomless pit. since similar sums had already been released for the organization under the first amending finance law.
Gabriel Attal argued that this bailout showed success in the government’s policy to promote apprenticeships but acknowledged that the situation of France Competences was not satisfactory.
To make structural savings, the Minister notably insisted on the need to better regulate the personal training account by cleaning up the list of eligible training courses.